What if?

Would I have loved her just as much,

Had her hair been less than perfect,

that evening or had autumn arrived

a day late? 

Had the warm, halogen glow  

cast an odd shadow

on her freckled face?

Would I have tickled her cat’s scruff,

Had it not purred and rolled  

like my own or had I missed the  black patch

on his left eye?

Had her bed smelled

of suds and dead roses, would I

have bid goodbye?

that night. Would she have noticed me ‘walking-by’,

through the limpid reflections on the pane,

had the smog set in early or had I

lit a cigar?

Had the knot around my neck,  

with the fresh mustard stain revealed

a deeper scar?

Would she have locked the door behind

and left the welcome mat askew,

Had I crossed the dingy alley and leapt over

the fence?

Had I turned the knob clockwise,

She perhaps would have answered

in morbid silence.

Photo Credits:

 Some rights reserved by Daniel Dionne